Chapter 133: Trinity

!!! 

To be honest, Rasa had considered many reasons why the White Snake Sage might want to meet him. But what the White Snake Sage had just said was completely beyond anything he had imagined. 

Evolve into a dragon!? Was the White Snake Sage insane? Or had he wandered into the wrong story? Wasn't this the world of Naruto? 

"What do you mean?" 

Rasa could no longer remain calm. His brows furrowed deeply. 

"Are you joking?" 

"Of course not!" 

The White Snake Sage raised its massive head and looked at the enormous scroll held in the jaws of the beast statue behind it, inscribed with the words "Ryūchi Cave." It then turned back to Rasa and asked, 

"Do you know why this place is called Ryūchi Cave?" 

Rasa's frown deepened, his tone filled with disbelief. 

"Are you saying that dragons once lived here?" 

To Rasa's surprise, the White Snake Sage shook its head. 

"No..." 

This only deepened Rasa's confusion. 

"Whether dragons ever existed in Ryūchi Cave is something even I cannot confirm. A thousand years ago, when Kaguya Ōtsutsuki descended from another world and brought the Ten-Tails to our planet, our world suffered immense destruction and corruption. The ancestors of Ryūchi Cave perished one after another, and I am the only one who survived. The only thing passed down to me was this scroll, which clearly records a secret method for snakes to evolve into dragons." 

At this, the three girls sitting beneath the White Snake Sage also became visibly excited.  Realizing that the White Snake Sage wasn't joking, Rasa's expression turned serious. 

"Does this have something to do with why you invited me here?" 

"Hmm..." 

The White Snake Sage coiled its body again, its demeanor calm as it asked, 

"Kazekage, what do you think is the difference between what you call Senjutsu energy, natural energy, and chakra?" 

"Difference?" 

Rasa thought for a moment before replying, 

"There doesn't seem to be much difference, except that Senjutsu energy doesn't contain the power of the Ōtsutsuki clan." 

The White Snake Sage didn't respond directly. Instead, it continued, 

"You've already obtained the Dragon Vein chakra and Mōryō's power, haven't you? If I'm not mistaken, the Senjutsu energy you possess should also have the ability to absorb natural energy and chakra, gaining their abilities in the process, correct?" 

Rasa didn't deny it. The White Snake Sage then asked, 

"Have you ever wondered why Senjutsu energy can absorb natural energy and chakra and acquire their abilities?" 

Rasa was stunned. Why would he think about that? In his view, as a "cheat" ability, wasn't it natural for it to have such powers? Moreover, his "cheat" was the Kāma, not Senjutsu energy. 

However, the White Snake Sage's question reminded Rasa of something. During the vision shown to him by the Divine Tree, he had seen that the Kāma within him was formed from purified chakra, condensed into pure Senjutsu energy. 

In other words, the essence of the Kāma's power was actually Senjutsu energy?

At this moment, the White Snake Sage asked another question that left Rasa deep in thought. 

"Kazekage, since you've already mastered the ability of Material Transformation, you must have also gained control over Inorganic Reincarnation, correct?" 

Rasa nodded. 

"Then, Kazekage, don't you find these two abilities somewhat familiar? Especially for someone like you, who has reached the pinnacle of chakra mastery as a Kazekage?" 

At first, Rasa didn't react, but the mention of chakra suddenly made him realize something. 

"Are you talking about the nature transformation and shape transformation of chakra?" 

Yes, the so-called Material Transformation ability of Senjutsu energy was essentially the nature transformation of chakra, except that chakra could only transform between the five basic natures. 

And the Inorganic Reincarnation ability was essentially the shape transformation of chakra, except that it allowed control over inorganic matter in nature. 

"So, are you saying that chakra is essentially Senjutsu energy? Even natural energy is Senjutsu energy? It's just that both chakra and natural energy have been tainted by the power of the Ōtsutsuki clan?" 

The White Snake Sage praised him. 

"What a clever human. Truly one of the finest among human shinobi. However, your understanding isn't entirely accurate..." 

By this point, Rasa was tired of the riddles. 

"So, White Snake Sage, what exactly are you trying to say? At this point, there's no need to beat around the bush, is there?" 

"Ho ho ho..." 

The White Snake Sage chuckled lightly. 

"You're right. There's no need for further mystery. The answer is simple: natural energy and chakra, when combined, form the complete Senjutsu energy—the most primordial power of this world." 

!!! 

In that instant, Rasa felt a sudden clarity. 

Yes, this explained why Rasa didn't need to mix chakra and natural energy like the Sage Modes of the Three Great Sage Regions. Senjutsu energy was already the combination of the two. 

The White Snake Sage continued its explanation. 

"To be precise, a thousand years ago, before Kaguya Ōtsutsuki descended, our world was filled with powerful Senjutsu energy. It wasn't until the Ōtsutsuki arrived and used the Ten-Tails to attempt to convert all the Senjutsu energy in this world into chakra." 

"Chakra!? Why?" 

Rasa was puzzled. 

"If Senjutsu energy is so powerful, why didn't they just consume it directly? Compared to Senjutsu energy, chakra doesn't seem as powerful, does it?"

The Sage smiled.

"Because they didn't have that ability. While the Ōtsutsuki clan is indeed powerful, they aren't omnipotent. To consume the energy of our world, they had to rely on the Ten-Tails to convert Senjutsu energy into chakra. Moreover, the Senjutsu energy of our world is... special." 

"Special?" 

"Yes." 

The White Snake Sage's voice took on a mysterious tone as it continued, seemingly unable to resist posing another riddle. 

"What do you think the abilities of Inorganic Reincarnation and Material Transformation represent?" 

"W-what about it…?" 

Rasa tightened the wrinkles on his forehead. He really hated riddles, but he still pondered the question. 

Inorganic Reincarnation and Material Transformation—one was about nature transformation, the other about shape transformation. Both seemed to revolve around the concept of "transformation." 

Suddenly, Rasa had an answer. 

"Are you talking about... possibility?" 

The White Snake Sage's gaze grew even more appreciative. 

"Exactly. Life is a miraculous thing, and the Senjutsu energy that nurtures our world is even more so. This gave Kaguya Ōtsutsuki an opportunity, and she made a choice—to consume the chakra fruit, which was born from the Senjutsu energy of our world, ahead of time."